A haircut and a blood pressure consultation! Your one-stop shop!

I came across an article titled "Effectiveness of Barber-Based Intervention for Improving Hypertension Control in Black Men". It can be found at the Archives of Internal Medicine website 'Online First' section or you can click here to view the abstract.

The study involved multiple randomized barber shops in the Dallas County, TX area. The intervention group barber shops offered blood pressure screenings in addition to the barber encouraging its black male patrons to follow-up with their physician. The control group barber shops just offered blood pressure information pamphlets (probably in the waiting area).

The results: the intervention group showed better hypertension control 10 months after the intervention period as compared to the control/comparison group. Well I'll be darned, it worked!

In all honesty, I'm not surprised. Barbers are accessible. Even in a depressed economy people are getting their hair cut. We may be broke ae hell but we will not walk around poor with bad haircuts/hairstyles. Anyway, back to my point. Barbers are accessible. Doctors on the other hand may be hard to find, may have no appointments available, and are just plain expensive to talk to. Sure, pharmacists are available but pharmacists aren't gonna give you a new 'do after helping you measure your blood pressure. Secondly, barbers/hairstylists/etc are so easy to talk to. I heard once that sometimes cops will go to a murder suspect's hair salon to speak with their barber/hairstylist if the suspect made a recent visit. Why? Because patrons spill so much information about their personal lives to the people cutting/dying/perming their hair! So, yeah, it makes sense that you develop a sense of trust discussing your healthcare with your barber since you are willing to trust them with your physical appearance. Lastly, the abstract didn't mention whether there was a fee for the service but I'm going to guess that there wasn't a fee, thereby making the service a no-brainer!

I'm not gonna lie, when I first saw the article I gasped thinking this was a pretty stereotypical approach for a study to take. However, after reading it and brainstorming other populations that could benefit from similar access points, I think the authors are on to something.......

My dog paid off my vet

My dog paid off my vet. Or maybe it was my husband. There is no other explanation.

That's the only conclusion I can draw from my experience with our veterinarian this past weekend.

I have a pomeranian. We never got his AKC papers when we bought him because only after we fell in love with him at the pet store did the guy who sold him to us tell us that they conveniently didn't have his AKC papers. So yes, he's probably a mutt. I've had pomeranians before--but never a pomeranian that weighs 24lbs 6oz. That's right. My pomeranian who is supposed to weigh between 8-12lbs is twice his weight. I don't expect him to be 12lbs, once again due to his mutt status, but he shouldn't be twice his weight either.

So why is he 24+lbs? He eats mainly table food. He'll eat his wet dog food only with sprinkled parmesan cheese on it at the end of the night on occasion if the human food didn't satisfy him. So what human food does he eat? Most of the time it's table scraps but if we eat something that he just won't eat (i.e., anything healthy), my husband will heat up some turkey sausages and give him that or (this next part is embarassing) my husband will get him a small fast food item so that he'll eat (e.g., chicken nuggets, cheeseburger off the value menu).

Anyway, I have been battling with my husband on this issue for a long time and have been threatening to tattletale on him at our annual vet visit. I was counting on the vet to lay down the law and scare him with some lines like, "If he stays at this weight, his life expectancy will surely be cut by 5 years" or "He is very likely to face diabetes in the next year if he continues at this pace" or how about "His small frame cannot carry his current weight for long--his hips or knees will give out".

So the vet and her tech weighed him, felt his frame, checked his teeth and hair, all the usual stuff. They gave him his  rabies shot and we talked about heartworm stuff, yada yada yada. I finally got an opportunity to get back to the discussion about weight since it was dismissed earlier. So I start rattling off all the stuff my husband gives my dog-- bacon, sausages, burgers, beef--and at this point my husband's face is bright red. As I was talking the vet and tech are just holding our dog, giving him his shots, giggling at all the food I listed. Then she turns to us and says "Awe, so what's his favorite fast food?" Okay, just answer, maybe she'll realize how bad he eats if you just answer, I thought to myself. I say, "Portillos." She responds, "Oh, he has good taste! Portillos is good!". My jaw was on the floor. She finishes giving him his shots, cuddling with him, etc and then says to him "You did so good with your shots. Maybe you'll get some Portillos later!". WTF?!

Honestly, I was speechless. My plan to embarass my husband so that he could finally join my mission to improve our dog's health had failed miserably. I had been defeated. When we left the vet, I came up with a theory-- they were purely there for the money and don't aim to improve their patients' health. In fact, they may even hope he comes back in worse shape so that they could charge us some ridiculous fee for hip or knee surgery or diabetic testing and supplies. I was convinced that this is why they don't want to change a darn thing about our dog's diet. So twisted but that's my theory. My husband on the other hand says that they have always been a very passive group and probably avoid confrontation or discipline because they don't want to isolate their customers. Okay, I can kinda see his point, but for goodness sake at least listen to what I had to say and recommend IAMS or an extra walk a day.

We drove away from the vet's and headed home. We hadn't eaten all day and so decided to grab something to go. Our dog had a Taco Supreme for lunch. I shook my head as my dog ate his taco. There he was systematically pulling all the lettuce out of the taco while not leaving a single drop of sour cream or beef behind. My husband's response to my disappointment? "The vet said we should get him Portillo's!"

Sigh.

Being acknowledged and thanked

Every quarter the healthcare company I work for holds a campus-wide forum for everyone to attend- managers from the stores are welcome as well as anyone from corporate (although attendance is so high that you must register to attend so most people watch the event from their computers). Anyway, the purpose of the forum is to talk about hot topic issues, play TV commercials that haven't been released to the public yet, go through Q&As, introduce key executive level additions, etc. Mostly though it's to motivate the entire live and web audience-- the company's employees. There are a lot of thank you's given out by everyone who holds the mic to once again everyone...the field, the DCs, corporate folks, etc...Today, a personal thank you was given to pharmacists as it is Pharmacist Appreciation month. I didn't go to the event and so was left wondering how that really resonated with the pharmacists and non-pharmacist audience members that did attend. My curiosity resides mainly with whether the pharmacists in the room felt truly acknowledged or whether it sounded rehearsed. I personally appreciate the fact that our occupation is celebrated this month, but know that as a pharmacist this is not how I'd prefer to be acknowledged.

This is something our company has struggled with for some time now. The manner in which you thank someone matters. Not thanking pharmacists for their efforts is not an option. If you want to deliver millions of flu shots, meet your KPIs, improve customer satisfaction, etc you need to tell your pharmacists that you 'get it' and that you appreciate them. But how do you convey that message in a genuine manner?

In an effort to demonstrate the value of MTM and at the same time acknowledge select pharmacists for their contributions towards MTM services, MTM vendors put together concise newsletters if you will to describe MTM cases that their contracted MTM pharmacists handled. They are usually not your 'So and so refilled their patient's medication and so compliance was improved' stories-- they are usually cases that show how a pharmacist went above and beyond with an intervention to improve their patient's healthcare. The pharmacist's store is listed, their name is displayed, and the case is described. Once again, this is intended to highlight the pharmacist and their success with this service as well as create interest for pharmacists who don't understand MTM or see the value as well as for pharmacists who may be unaware of how their interventions can make a difference. So, are these 'Look what your peers did!' emails successful? Does the pharmacist highlighted in these briefs even like the fact that their name is published? Do they feel a sense of pride knowing that these emails can trickle down to 7,000+ stores?

We get thank you's in all kinds of ways, from all sorts of people in the company. I get them as automated responses from many people just for responding to an email. I get a more personal thank you and 'good job' at my annual review. I get thanked sometimes by upper management who were made aware of something I excelled at. But whose thank you matters most to me and how do I like to get thanked?

Here's how-- don't thank me only in front of other people. It only shows me that you only care about how you look and if that's the first time I hear it, I know you've been waiting to deliver the thank you in front of a large group because you 'acknowledge your employees'. Don't thank me only at my reviews. I resent you all year long for not acknowledging my efforts just for you to overwhelm me with gratitude this one time a year. Don't thank me only after someone else has acknowledged my accomplishment. You either understood the value of it in the first place or you didn't. And lastly, don't thank me because you have to. The random thank you's at the end of a busy week or emailing our boss to explain why you're so proud of me every so often means something to me. Being thanked by patients for helping them through consultations, product selection, or just answering a simple question is usually good enough for me too. Being thanked by other colleagues via a simple email or call for making their job easier is good for me.

What motivates you to do better? Do you prefer a personal thank you or do you prefer for others to witness gratitude given to you?

Safe Medication Disposal: Do people have the green to be that green?

photo courtesy of Google Images

Last week Walgreens announced their Safe Medication Disposal program for patients who want to dispose of their unused or expired meds safely. For $2.99 patients can purchase an envelope that can be used to ship their unwanted meds to an incinerating facility where medications will be destroyed. By-products are then used for "green" related building materials instead of ending up in a landfill or the ocean.

I get the whole green thing. I get patients wanting to "do the right thing". What I don't get, or rather, what I don't think patients will buy into is having to purchase the envelope to rid their medications in a safe, green way. Patients are already trying to cut corners on their meds. Patients aren't taking their meds because of costs. Do you really think they're going to then pay to make the medications go away when they could just dump them in their trash, or better yet let them sit in their medicine cabinets?

I'd be the first one to advocate for a cleaner earth, specifically for waste not to get dumped into the ocean. (I prefer blue water to the green/brown color that is Lake Michigan). I hate seeing all those documentaries about the damage our waste and harmful medications are having on the wildlife. Nothing brings a tear to my eye faster than watching film on animals trying to remove plastic from their mouths, oil off their feathers, etc. I get it-- we have a very detrimental effect of the livelihood and survival of other species. Dumping our meds in the trash isn't helping. I see crows get into our garbage bags all the time. The last thing I want is a big ass crow picking at some orange vials that smell yummy (mmmm...vanilla scented Biaxin).

Are people literally buying into this program? In a time of national economic stress are people really paying to dispose their medications safely?

Better yet, I have an idea. How about when the patient comes to purchase an envelope, a pharmacist peeks inside to see if it's a long-term med for hypertension/diabetes/hypercholesterolemia/etc. If it is, we counsel the patient on medication adherence, take the envelope back from them but keep the $2.99 for a counseling fee, and send them on their way. They shouldn't be throwing away their meds anyway.

When "just a joke" goes bad

I was saddened this morning to read about a Rutgers student, Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide the day after a roomate and friend secretly taped him having relations with another man. This post isn't about this particular case, nor is it to talk about hate crimes. My empathy is based on the lack of civility displayed by the two individuals charged in this case, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei. The article I read mentioned that gay activist groups are coming forward and calling this a hate crime. Personally, I'm going to guess that Ravi and Wei were not motivated by hatred towards the gay/lesbian/bisexual population or Clementi himself, but rather that they thought their prank would be funny and thus something they could take credit for. Ravi had publicly posted a message about the prank, which probably means he was proud of his contribution.

The problem with bullying and playing pranks on people is that you as the bully or prankster never know how your actions will impact your target. Granted, this was not a case of shoving a kid into his locker. Ravi and Wei carefully planned to publicly humiliate Clementi and "out" him (if he was indeed gay) before Clementi was ready to do so.

This case reminds me of Megan Meier's-- the unfortunate story of this teenage girl who committed suicide by hanging herself after being lied to by an adult cyber-bully. Meier had been emailing a "boy" who she had a crush on but later the "boy" called her a liar and a slut and told her the world would be better without her. Depressed, Meier took her own life. The truth unfolded that the "boy" was instead a female adult neighbor who pretended to be the boy because she wanted to supposedly find out what Meier was saying about her own daughter. Meier's family admitted that they do not think that the intent was for Meier to kill herself. Nonetheless, that is what resulted from the cyber-bullying.

It's hard to define a line that should not be crossed when it comes to trying to get a laugh out of someone or making them 'tick' to a point where they're just pissed off but not suicidal. The truth is that line isn't the same for everyone. Getting a rise out of someone is risky. Is making fun of someone's attire acceptable but making fun of their sexuality off-limits? What if that person who gets made fun of for the way they dress wants to be a designer? Did you just shatter their dreams?

You'll never really know exactly what your target is going through to guarantee that they won't commit suicide or cause harm to someone/something else in their moment of despair and/or rage. I'm the first to admit that I like making people laugh, and I'm willing to be the butt of the joke if you will too. But what if two people who exchange jokes do so when one of them is having an off-day? You may not be aware that a person may have experienced a bad day/week, recent life change (e.g., job loss, loss of a loved one), etc and so a joke that they should just find funny goes awry. Most sensible people would avoid bullying someone or playing a prank on someone if they knew that person was in a sensitive, fragile state. The problem is, you don't always know.

So should we never joke around, never play silly pranks like tying a rubber band to your faucet's sprayer handle so that when the next person goes to use the faucet water sprays them (see pic below)? Life would be pretty dull.

I feel horrible for the people who are pushed so far to the edge that they jump off, but I also feel regret for the people that pushed them that far and didn't mean for them to actually jump. No penalty enforced by the law can equal the weight your conscience would feel (assuming you're human).

All I'm saying is that we have to think before we act. Ravi and Wei were old enough to know better. In college, at a prestigious university. The adult charged in Meier's case should have known better as well. Maybe those who are depressed and suicidal will eventually meet the same fate (e.g, committing suicide). Sad, but possible. Just don't let their death come as result of your actions. No amount of laughter, popularity, or fortune is worth it.

Just when I thought I had something to complain about.....(Series)

I bump into another story about these guys:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/17/chile.miners/?hpt=T2

Man, seriously I'd go INSANE if I were 2k feet below the earth for almost 2 months (they've been there since August 5, 2010). These 33 miners have stayed fairly optimistic, despite the news from their employer who says they do not have the money to pay the miners for their work and/or suffering. (The employer has since filed for bankruptcy.)

The bright side is that today workers were able to drill a hole and reach the miners. Now they just have to widen the hole to be able to bring them up. Early estimates said they wouldn't be out until November. That date, thankfully has been moved up although I'm not sure they have set a new target date.

Anyway, I will add to this series--'Just when I thought I had something to complain about.....'--basically every time I think I have it bad but then realize I really don't at all. Feel free to add to it.

I hope these guys get out soon and are somehow able to get compensated for their pain, suffering, and more than anything--time away from their loved ones. I can't even imagine what it would be like to not be able to see my baby boy's face every day, or not hear my husband laugh. And to think, I was just mad that I wasn't going to be going to the Dave Matthews/Jason Mraz concert at Wrigley Field this weekend. Silly me.

The Wall

Album cover courtesy of Google Images

Almost everyone has at one point or another heard "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" or "Comfortably Numb" from one of the best rock albums of all time, The Wall. Released in 1979 by Pink Floyd, the album is so much more than either of these two songs. If you have never listened to the album from start to finish, I encourage you to do so as it is not just background music, but rather an experience. The lyrics are a challenge to understand and/or relate to at first due to the number of metaphors used throughout the album, however they allow you to use your imagination to try to understand what Pink was trying to convey in every song. I have enjoyed listening to this album for quite some time now and in an effort to fully grasp the meaning of each line/theme, I searched the internet for an analysis that would help me get some questions answered.

I came across the following website: http://www.thewallanalysis.com/Intro.html.

Bret Urick, the site's owner and author, does an amazing job of sharing his interpretation of one of the best concept albums in rock history. He does reference interviews with Roger Waters wherever applicable, specifically a 1979 interview between Waters and Tommy Vance is cited throughout, but this analysis is largely Urick's own interpretation of The Wall. Anyway, if you're interested and if you've got the time check out his website. If you're anything like me, you'll probably walk away with an even deeper appreciation for The Wall.

Lucky for me I get to see Roger Waters perform The Wall later this month in Chicago. Supposedly, the entire album is going to be performed. Ask yourself-- is there an album that you'd want to hear in its entirety at a concert? I can't think of too many, but this is definitely one of them. The concert should be special. The album surely is.

Now toss me the pigskin

9/9/2010 Photo courtesy of Google Images

Yes! The day has finally come!!

Enough of garbage meaningless preseason football, contract holdouts, considerations of moving towards an 18 game regular season, waiting for Favre to inevitably come out of retirement, the new rule to have umpires stand behind the play and its impact on the Colts, er NFL.....enough of all of it. It's time for real football--- time for the players to put their money where their mouths are, time to watch the brilliance of game plans and schemes that the coaches have been devising and hiding until now, time to see if the "we never get any respect" Saints can repeat, time to see if Favre can carry his 2009 numbers into 2010, time to see if Chris Johnson can be stopped. And lucky for you and me, the time is NOW.

This preseason was exceptionally long and drawn out. It's bad enough that the NFL bores us year after year, keeping us tapping our fingers while we wait one full month before we can watch meaningful, action-packed, hard-hitting games. But this year, two major leagues collaboratively worked together to force me and many others to toss the sports section of the newspaper altogether for the last 4 weeks. Our hometown team, the only team in Chicago that matters (enter Sox fan boos here), the Cubs, sucked it up from the get-go this year. It became truly painful to watch this team in July and August--most of us didn't even know the names of the young players that were called up to fill the roster spots. So maybe the rest of the league was more interesting and exciting, I thought. Nope. The entire sport became uninteresting to me as soon as Stephen Strasburg got injured. He alone would've been worth watching had he not thrown his arm out. The guy could have been a phenom. I haven't been this disappointed since Barbaro went down.

Anyway, back to football. How exciting is this year going to be? Very exciting, my friends. We have up-and-coming talent in Arian Foster, Matt Stafford, C.J Spiller, Ryan Mathews, and more. I could go on and on (and I will in a separate post). Tonight, the NFL kicks off with the undefeated Super Bowl champs taking on Favre and Co. The morning line has the Saints to win by 5.5 but I predict that they're going to win by a much wider margin. The Saints, with their high-powered offense is going to be able to stifle the Viking D on opening day. Brett and Co. will be interesting to watch, to say the least. Will Brett be able to move around the pocket and get the ball out his receivers in time with that injured ankle of his? Will AP have better control of the football or will he be fumble-prone again this year? Will Chester Taylor's absence have an effect on the offense? Can Sidney Rice be replaced? My guesses are No, not consistently;He better hope so; Yes, and that's why I'm glad he's on the Bears; and Absolutely. (Are you keeping up?)

We shall see........I'm hoping for a good, close match-up tonight. Either way, we have the rest of the NFL and 16 games left for most teams come Friday morning. Here's to football that matters. Chicken wings, anyone?

Hasta Lou Vista!

Wow, I'm late with this, but as they say "better late than never". Just going to set a few minutes aside this morning to pay homage to the now retired Cubs manager Lou Piniella who gave his last 4 years of managing baseball to the Cubs organization, fans, and city of Chicago.
Piniella's record with the Cubs was 316-293 and he helped the Cubs win both 2007 and 2008 NL Central titles. He came in being known for his success as a manager (and player) with an added bonus of standing up for his players and questionable calls. I captured one of these fired-up Lou moments in 2008 (Cubs vs. Marlins).

The picture below was taken in 2007 in a game against the Reds. It's obviously a flawed picture technically, but I liked it then and I like it now for it's simplicity. Just a picture of the man doing his job. Sometimes the best thing you can do as the leader or manager of the club is let the boys play. While observing play, Piniella as he was doing in this picture could be seen frequently consulting with his bench coach Alan Trammell. As it turns out, Trammell will not succeed Piniella as the next Cubs manager, as cited by multiple sources including Cubs GM Jim Hendry. I had a chance to talk to Trammell after a Cubs-Reds game in 2007 and he had nothing but good praise when speaking of Piniella. I wish both Piniella and Trammell best of luck in their future endeavors and hope that Trammell will continue to be a source of insight to whoever the Cubs decide to hire for the managing role.

This last photo was also captured during the Cubs-Reds series in September 2007 and shows the former Cub left-fielder Jacque Jones having some fun with the coach while he was giving an on-air interview. Piniella had no clue Jones was back there trying to be funny. Either way, it made for a great candid photo with Sweet Lou. 

It really was a bittersweet ending to Lou's tenure. He expected to retire soon, and even announced in July 2010 that this would be his last year managing any club. Yet he as well as the rest of us expected him to finish out the year and then move on to retirement. As with anything else in life, you can only plan so much and so far out. Lou's mother's health was not improving and thus Lou re-prioritized his responsibilities and announced that he'd be retiring effective immediately after a game against the Atlanta Braves on August 22, 2010. The Cubs played bad baseball (as was the style for them in 2010) and sent Lou out with a 16-5 loss. (As a sidenote, the Cubs lost the first game of the 2010 season against the Braves. The score? A 16-5 loss.)

Well, it's definitely sad to see him go. He did a lot for the Cubs in 2007 and 2008. He provided hope to the Cubs, fans, and Chicago when they needed it most. Lou obviously did the right thing by moving up his retirement to be with his mother, as opposed to sticking around for a ballclub that is limping to the finish line. Sometimes you don't know what the right decision is but other times it's staring you right in the face. With tears in his eyes as he waved goodbye to everyone at the last game, I think he knew deep inside that this was the best decision. Family first. The 2011 MLB season will be here before you know it should you decide to return to the game in some capacity. Farewell for now, Sweet Lou.

Special DeLEEvery to Turner Field

Derrek Lee, a beloved Cub and a leader in the clubhouse, is now an Atlanta Brave. He had a lackluster 2010 season with the Cubs, hitting .251 with 16 homeruns and 56 RBIs while playing with a nagging back injury throughout. Yet, the Braves got a steal.

The Braves traded three minor league pitchers (2 RHPs and 1 LHP) to the Cubs, none of which are considered to be top prospects. Lee, on the other hand, is capable of so much more than his 2010 numbers show, as he proved in 2005 (335 BA;46 HRs;107 RBIs) and even in 2009 (306;35;111). I must also mention that he's hitting .306 with 4 HRs and 8 RBIs over the last 10 games in August. I predict that Lee will continue this pace as a Brave, as he now has the motivation to play even better for a team that is preparing for the playoffs, unlike the Cubs who can't wait to get the season over with.

Lee will be an even bigger contributor for the Braves on the defensive side of the game, as he will most likely replace Troy Glaus who primarily plays 1B, but who is also capable of playing 3B as well. Glaus, after spending some time on the DL resting his knee, will most likely move to third while Lee takes over at first. Did I mention that Lee is a 3-time Gold Glove winner (2003, 2005, and 2007)?


Chicago fans and the organization as a whole embraced Lee, who came to Chicago in 2004 via a trade for Hee-Seop Choi (anyone remember him?). Lee did his job quietly on the field but was a respected voice in the clubhouse. Fellow teammate Ryan Dempster had this to say of Lee "And he's a better human being than he is a baseball player," after discussing Lee's stats and accomplishments. Alfonso Soriano, who plays LF for the Cubs, also noted that while the Cubs may be able to replace Lee's numbers with another player, his personality cannot be replaced and will be missed.

This trade hurts. Hurts the Cubs and Cubs fans anyway. We've lost a good player and good role model. In the last few weeks, we also traded Ted Lilly, Mike Fontentot, and Ryan Theriot to other teams, but those trades don't sting as much as this one. Lee truly gave his best in his 7 years with the Cubs on and off the field and although leaving may have been a tough decision, it was the right decision. He deserves to go to a winning team where he can get what every baseball player wants: a World Series ring. He still has enough gas left in the tank to attain that goal with the Braves, unlike the Cubs who may not even make it to the finish line of the regular season. Go get em, Derrek.

Bliss- complete happiness

The plan was to watch the beginning of the first Bears preseason game together after dinner. How fitting-Dylan had painted himself in orange with sweet potatoes to look just like a true Bears fan.

As I played with him, I thought about how this boy is my world. It was then that I noticed that the moon was directly behind him, shining bright and through our foyer window. In this moment and through perhaps only a mother's eyes, I was looking at the sun, moon, and stars all at once. Bliss.

Those who have succeeded at anything and don't mention luck are kidding themselves. -Larry King

Well said!

Don't discount being in the right place at the right time.....................and it really helps if God's on your side.

The best thing you can do is take advantage of opportunities when they're presented.

If you haven't already, read my favorite book Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. You'll be fascinated. I promise. Malcolm Gladwell, you're my hero.

My wrist just got a little prettier

I finally got a Pandora bracelet......and I LOVE it! Highly recommended to any ladies out there who enjoy jewelry with meaning. Not gonna lie-- it's not cheap. That being said, it's worth the cost because it's unique, not gaudy, and PERSONAL.

......unlike Tiffany's jewelry which isn't that great....or unique.....or cheap.......sorry, just sayin'

What I love most about the concept of Pandora's line of jewelry is that it's meant to represent your journey, your life, what's most important to you. The charms that I got today represent my son and my marriage. I was sold on it when my friend Trish explained her bracelet. Charm by charm she told me why she got each one. It's like a life story. On your wrist. Sweet.

The FIRST post!

How exciting! My very own blog. I've been blogging privately (i.e., writing in a journal) for years now, so it's a little intimidating posting my thoughts for you all to see. However, I'm gonna get over that really quickly because I know I'm going to enjoy this. I have always enjoyed writing. I loved it the day I wrote my first book in grade school about a penguin who couldn't slide. The book went on to win the young author's competition. I wish I could find that book now to show my kid someday. Anyway, my love for writing continued through highschool. I was a sports columnist for our school newspaper-- oh poor me getting to interview the cutest guys on the football team. I was also a writing tutor but mostly just re-wrote stuff for other kids because I sucked at explaining the rules of English, grammar, sentence structure, etc. That's ok. It helped me eliminate one career path I was considering: becoming a teacher just like my mom. I've never had patience for anything, so I'd make for a terrible teacher. I'm so impatient that when I went to buy my first car I was willing to buy one that wouldn't start (literally made that chug chug chug chug chug sound repeatedly when the guy turned the key in the ignition) simply because it was the right color and it was a convertible. C'mon, a 16 year old with a convertible? How cool would that have been? Anyway, not much has changed. I settled for the car I'm driving now that isn't the color I went in for because the dealership didn't have the one I wanted in stock.......the exact car I wanted was going to be in that same lot 3 weeks from the day I went in, but noooooooo I had to drive off in something other than I came in with. Embarassingly impatient. Thanks to my Dad who didn't let me buy the car that didn't start, and my husband who has great patience and discipline, have I been forced to get a little better. But let's be honest-I'm still gonna look for hidden presents throughout the house on Christmas Eve, shake the box by my ear to figure out what's inside, and then place it back EXACTLY how I found it. Ah yes, I may be impatient, but I'm not stupid. :)